LISA NANDY has accused Wes Streeting of risking a return to the “Brexit wars” after he called for Britain to rejoin the European Union.
Speaking to Sky News’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, the Culture Secretary said the Labour government had been trying to take a “pragmatic approach” to relations with Europe instead of “reopening the Brexit wars”.
In a speech on Saturday, Streeting said he would stand in any future Labour leadership contest and campaign for Britain to rejoin the EU. The former health secretary said leaving the bloc had been a “catastrophic mistake” and called for a new “special relationship” with Europe.
Nandy said: “If rejoining the EU is the answer, then essentially what we’re saying to people is ‘life was fine in 2015, we just need to go back there’.”
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She added that voters in places including Wigan, Ashton, Winstanley and Makerfield would say “that is absolutely not the case”.
Nandy later told the BBC that Streeting’s decision was “a bit odd”.
The comments come as Labour faces a possible leadership contest. Streeting resigned from the Cabinet last week and criticised Keir Starmer’s leadership.
Andy Burnham is also expected to enter the race if he wins the Makerfield by-election, while Angela Rayner is also being discussed as a possible contender.
Kemi Badenoch said Labour was trying to “refight wars which were settled a long time ago”. Reform UK is also expected to target Burnham’s pro-EU position in the Makerfield campaign.
The Telegraph first reported comments from Burnham allies saying he still supported rejoining the EU in future.
